Reluctant Roomies
by phoebenpiper
Summary: Missing scenes from Series 4 with Connor, Abby, and Jess, written as each episode was shown on BBC-America (so I had no foreknowledge of what was coming next).
1. Chapter 1

**Reluctant Roomies**

a missing scene from Primeval's Series 4 Episode 2

by phoebenpiper

_**[Author's Note: Contains SPOILERS for Primeval's Series 4 Episode 2!]**_

...

"So, speaking of food, what kind of food does Becker like?"

As Connor patiently began to answer with what little he knew about the Captain's food preferences, Abby tried to catch his eye as she stifled a pretend yawn . Abby was so done with this conversation. It wasn't just that she was no longer in the mood to discuss every detail about Becker's life, it was more that she wanted some time to be alone with Connor. Today had been a big day - the Menagerie, Duncan, the Kaprosuchus, getting their jobs back - and they needed a chance to debrief.

But it was more than that. After all their time together in the Cretaceous, she and Connor had come to rely so heavily on each other for their own survival that it still felt like they needed one another to make them whole. That's why she'd originally turned down the job with the Menagerie - she couldn't imagine working at the ARC when Connor wasn't allowed to. However, she'd been excited and thankful when Connor gave her permission to take the job because she knew that work, especially with animals, was exactly what she needed right now. And it had been SO nice to see Rex again - it was comforting to know that he'd missed her, too! Tomorrow she'd have to take Connor in to see Rex as well as Sid and Nancy - they were like family, and she hoped that, once she and Connor got their own place, they would be allowed to keep their pets as they once had.

Their own place. Just the thought of it felt so good. Of course, they'd been flatmates before, but they'd just been "mates" then, with separate lives and separate bedrooms. And for the past year, while they'd been stuck on the other side of the anomaly, they'd managed to make a nest for themselves , but one could hardly call that a home. But now that they were back and they were together, they could find a real home. Someplace warm and cozy and safe that they could come home to.

Not like the rundown place where Duncan now lived. Abby hadn't believed it when Connor had told her to pull the car over at what appeared to be a condemned building to drop Duncan off. Connor was clearly having trouble believing it as well for he'd spent the entire car-ride back talking about his friend and what they might do to help him. Connor blamed himself for how Duncan had turned out, and nothing Abby could say could take that guilt away.

And while he hadn't said it aloud, Abby could easily guess what other fear had been plaguing Connor's thoughts - the fear that, had circumstances been different, he himself could easily have turned out like Duncan. The crazy talk about creature sightings, the conspiracy theories - Duncan did sound a bit like Connor had when she'd first met him. And what if, instead of stumbling upon the anomalies with Cutter and Stephen and becoming a part of the ARC team, he'd been disbelieved at every turn? Connor probably doubted that his own sanity could've remained intact under such circumstances, but Abby knew better. Connor was stronger than Duncan, stronger than Stephen...stronger even than herself. His faith was what had kept them alive in the Cretaceous and what had gotten them safely back here, so she knew that Connor would've been fine, no matter what path his life had taken.

Though she was thankful his path had crossed hers. She couldn't imagine her life now without him. Not that she'd WANTED to be stranded on the far side of an anomaly for a year, but if she'd had it to do all over again, she'd willing choose her current life if it meant having Connor at her side.

Yet it'd felt strange to acknowledge that bond when Duncan had bluntly asked if she was now Connor's "girlfriend". She'd automatically answered yes to his inquiry because, now that they were back in the "real world", she supposed that was the easiest explanation for what they'd become. But their relationship was so much more than that. For an entire year they'd struggled together, worked together, hoped together, and, yes, slept together. More importantly, though, they'd become a team, in the truest sense of the word - they were in synch, always there for each other without ever having to directly communicate.

But now that they were back, some things about their relationship were going to have to change. In fact, things already were changing because Connor was clearly not getting her hints that she wanted to end this conversation and go to bed.

Just thinking about bed again made her yawn, for real this time, and Connor instantly noticed, quickly giving a giant pretend yawn of his own, adding, "It's getting late, Jess. Perhaps...?"

"Oh, of course," Jess said, her face flushing with embarrassment. "I'm so sorry - you two must think me a TERRIBLE hostess, nattering on at you when you're both probably knackered."

Abby smiled and nodded - now that she thought about it, she WAS exhausted. It was going to take some time to recover from the stress of living in the Cretaceous.

"Come on," Jess said, jumping to her feet. "Abby, you can have the spare room. And Connor, you can have the futon out here - it's MUCH comfier than it looks, I promise."

Abby's heart instantly fell. She had just assumed that she and Connor would be sleeping together - it had never occurred to her that Jess would suggest they sleep separately.

Connor must've felt the same because he shot Abby a pained look. She knew that Connor was too polite and would never speak up for himself - he'd always let her make the first move where their relationship was concerned - so it was going to have to be up to her to say something.

"Actually, Jess," Abby began, standing up and following the girl to the linen closet where she was now pulling out blankets, "that really isn't necessary. You know, Connor and I spent the last year-"

"Sleeping on the ground!" Jess finished for her, dropping the pile of blankets on the floor as she covered her flushing cheeks with her hands. "I'm so sorry - I don't know what I was thinking. I really am a TERRIBLE hostess. Of COURSE Connor can have my bed!"

"Thanks, I-what?"

Connor, like Abby, must've been expecting the girl to respond differently, and it'd taken him a moment to catch up with the conversation.

But Jess was already continuing on. "After all that time away, of course you'd want to sleep in a real bed," she said, picking up the blankets from the floor and dumping them unceremoniously on the futon. "I kind of lied anyway - this futon isn't really all that comfy. But I'm happy to sleep here. I mean, after all the sacrifices you two made this past year, it's the least I can do to spend a few nights on the futon, yeah?"

"Really, that isn't-" Abby began, but Jess was already rushing out of the room, showing them where they'd be sleeping.

Connor shot Abby a pathetic puppy-dog look as he reluctantly followed Jess into her bedroom.

...

Connor felt melancholy as he slid, alone, into the sheets. He'd merely stood by, feeling helpless, as Jess had cheerfully changed the sheets on her bed, nattering on about her lack of linens and apologizing for the polka dots, but what else could he have done? It was her flat, and if she didn't want him and Abby to share a bed, that was her right.

Of course, she wasn't aware that he and Abby were now a couple -that clearly wasn't "in their files." But since Abby hadn't volunteered that information to Jess, HE certainly wasn't going to. It was obvious, after the evening they'd just spent, that anything they told Jess was liable to be all over the ARC in a matter of minutes, so it was no wonder that Abby had kept quiet, clearly not wanting to be the butt of any more office gossip.

Connor was happy, though, that she'd been so willing to admit their relationship to Duncan. Stupid as it seemed, it had sent a thrill through him to have her affirm she was his "girlfriend". Not that he should' ve had any doubt about how she felt about him after the year they'd just spent together, but he was aware that those had been special circumstances, and now that they were back, certain things might change. So her affirmation had meant the world to him.

Unfortunately he couldn't go to bed with an affirmation. After all that time sleeping out in the open, it felt strange enough to be in a nice, comfortable bed, with Jess's fruity perfume still hanging in the air, and it felt even stranger to have Abby so far away. Even though she was only in the next room, he desperately wished she could be here with him. After all they'd been through, didn't he and Abby deserve to have a happy ending, to fall asleep safely in each other's arms? Unfortunately the fates weren't seeing it that way, and Connor would simply have to wait until he and Abby had their own place together for their fairy tale to conclude.

Resigned to his present circumstances, Connor turned off the bedside light and rolled onto his side, his mind returning once again to the day...and to Duncan.

"YOU happened to me" - Duncan's words echoed in his mind, causing a fresh wave of guilt to rush over him. No doubt Duncan's mum blamed Connor as well for she'd been more than terse on the phone. Poor Duncan - seeing the homeless community where his friend had once lived had nearly brought Connor to tears. If it wasn't for him, Duncan would've lived a sane and normal life, so Connor resolved to bring his friend back from the brink, no matter what it took.

Starting to doze off, his mind began coming up with random ways to help Duncan, ways that probably wouldn't even make sense in the morning. He was on the brink of slumber when suddenly a low sound caught his attention. A year ago he probably wouldn't even have heard it, but his senses were still attuned to the dangers of the Cretaceous. A rush of adrenalin coursed through him as he sat up in bed and, by the light of the digital clock, frantically scrabbled for something on the nightstand he could use as a weapon.

"Connor, it's me."

Abby's voice was barely audible, but Connor instantly relaxed, realizing there was no danger. He clumsily set the receiver of the princess phone back in place as Abby noiselessly slid into bed next to him. Connor lay back down, encircling Abby in his arms as he whispered in her ear, "But what about Jess?"

He could feel Abby shrug as she answered, "I'm sure we'll be up before her." She didn't have to explain why - they were both having problems sleeping through the night. "She won't have to know."

"And tomorrow night?"

She shrugged again but was asleep before she could answer aloud.

Connor smiled, tenderly kissing Abby's hair, so glad that she was here with him, so glad that he had such a smart girlfriend.

He had a girlfriend.

He, Connor Temple, had a hot blonde girlfriend! UNBELIEVABLE!

And with that thought running through his head and Abby in his arms, Connor fell peacefully asleep.

...

When she woke the next morning, Jess was surprised to hear the shower already running and even more surprised when Connor mumbled, "Coffee. Coffee. Where might you be?" from the kitchen.

"The coffee's at the store, I'm afraid," Jess said, slightly amused at how much Connor jumped at the sound of her voice. "Sorry 'bout that. See, caffeine and I don't get along very well."

"Really?" Connor seemed stunned. "I would've thought..." He trailed off and quickly opened up the refrigerator door, saying, "I s'pose milk'll do for now."

"Help yourself to whatever you want," Jess said, standing up and heading for the back toilet. "My fridge is yours."

As Jess walked by the spare room, she glanced in and noticed that the bed barely looked slept in. 'Abby must be a sound sleeper like me,' she thought, tucking that bit of information away in her head.

...


	2. Chapter 2

Reluctant Roomies - Pt 2

by phoebenpiper

[Note: Contains spoilers for Series 4 Episode 3]

...

"You know, I think we should tell Jess," Connor said as Abby quietly slipped into bed next to him. "I don't feel right keeping this a secret from her. I mean, anyone else, that's our own business, but this AFFECTS her. And she shouldn't have to be sleeping on that futon if you're just going to be sneaking in here every night anyway - it's not fair. I mean, have you SAT on that futon? I'd rather sleep on a bed of nails than-"

"Connor." The seriousness in Abby's tone made Connor instantly stop rambling. "We need to talk."

A cold chill went down Connor's spine. Those four words had to be the scariest four words in the English language! Far scarier than "raptor in a mall" or "mammoth on the M25".

"Talk?" he asked, his voice cracking like a pubescent male. He cleared his throat, lowering his voice to the proper octave before continuing, "What about?"

"What happened today."

She didn't continue straightaway, which made Connor's mind start spinning. She'd seemed perfectly fine about the whole "him almost killing Rex" thing because it had all turned out okay in the end, so what could she want to "talk" about?

Abby sighed in the darkness, and Connor felt her breath on his face. He practically held his own breath, waiting for her to continue, to give him some sign about what she was upset about.

Finally she began, "I don't like keeping secrets. Especially from each other."

Connor felt his heart leap into his throat. Had Jess told her? She was the only person who'd been there, the only one that had seen him type it in. But Jess didn't seem the type to betray him...did she? But what else could it be?

There'd been good reasons to keep it secret, he attempted to justify to himself. First off, he didn't want Abby to know what kind of pathetic sop he was. "Abby Temple" - that was the sort of thing schoolboys doodled in the margin! Second, she was smart enough to realize he must've set the password years ago when he'd first set up the computer system for the ARC. That was long before he'd ever told her how he felt, even longer before she'd finally come around to his way of thinking. She might not feel comfortable knowing he'd been carrying a torch that long. And third, when he finally asked Abby to marry him - and it was definitely a question of "when" and not "if" - he wanted to do it proper, not through some accidental relating of a long-forgotten password.

Meanwhile, Abby was continuing, "...he wanted her watched, kept, like some animal in the Menagerie, not a human stranded away from her own time. I didn't want to lie to Becker, but I didn't see as I had much choice."

"Becker?" Connor had pulled himself away from his own musings to catch the end of Abby's explanation. A wave of relief rushed over him - Abby wasn't talking about HIS secret, she was talking about HERS. Though what exactly her secret was he hadn't quite followed.

"I know, I KNOW," Abby continued defensively. "Becker's our friend, he tried to rescue us, and Matt...Matt clearly has secrets of his own. But in this case...I don't know. Do you think I did right?"

The tone of her voice and the look in her eyes, which Connor could barely make out through the dim light of the room, made it clear that what she needed now was reassurance. And while he still wasn't clear what all this was about, he nodded and pulled her close. "You were perfect," he mumbled into her hair.

He could feel her smile against his neck as she snuggled in closer to him, clearly content in his answer.

And maybe tomorrow he'd pretend he'd been half asleep so he could get the full story from her. Clearly it was important, something he needed to know, but now was not the time for it. Now was the time for falling asleep, with Abby clutched lovingly in his arms.

...

Abby had trouble sleeping. Something about the way Connor reacted to her bringing up the topic of secrets had been off, and it took her all night to put her finger on it. Clearly he was keeping something from her, and clearly it had to do with whatever had happened at the ARC yesterday.

Yet he'd explained everything that had happened. In excruciating detail. Why was it Connor never noticed her eyes glazing over whenever he went into the specifics of this or that computer scheme he was working on? Of course, she never said anything about her boredom aloud for it would've crushed Connor. He loved computers, and he loved Abby, and he desperately wanted the two of them to get along. But operating systems, file extensions, scans, firewalls - sometimes she'd thought his mind-numbing explanations would never end.

And in his detailed descriptions of his day's activities, he hadn't seemed to keep anything from her. He might've tried to downplay how he'd almost killed Rex, but he hadn't - he'd explained how Rex's wheezes had sounded over Phillip's intercom and how, thankfully, the makeshift oxygen tent had worked wonders. Of course she was grateful that Rex, and Phillip too, had survived, but she was more proud of the fact that Connor had managed to find a way to save them. Phillip was like the ultimate science geek idol, yet Connor had managed to outwit Phillip's unbreakable system.

With a trapdoor.

It was this part that Abby realized that he'd glossed over. Connor had given every painstaking detail of all the attempts that had failed, but the solution that had saved the day had only encompassed three sentences of his hour-plus description of his day:

"Then I remembered...well, Jess helped me remember...that I'd built a trapdoor into my original computer system. So I...uh...well, I typed in the password and voila! It worked."

Abby realized now how out-of-place this description was. He'd been racing through his story when he'd suddenly seemed to pull up, like a startled horse, afraid to go too fast and lose his footing. He'd practically tip-toed through the above description before racing on heedlessly once again to how he'd saved Rex.

So what was it about the trapdoor and the password that had spooked him? Why did he need to keep it a secret from her?

Abby was determined to find out.

...

The next morning, Jess moaned in pain as she rolled off the futon she'd slept on. If she could call it "slept" on. It was hard to get any REM sleep whilst lying on a torture device. Standing up, her lower back protesting, she made a mental note that she needed to buy a new futon before she invited more overnight guests.

"Morning." Abby was already in the kitchen, her newly cut blonde hair still wet, which meant that the running water in the shower must be Connor.

"Morning," Jess said through a yawn. "Did you sleep okay?"

Abby shrugged noncommittally, but Jess could see the bags under her eyes.

"Can I...can I ask you a question?" Abby asked, sounding uncertain.

Jess nodded, joining the blonde in the kitchen. "Sure. Anything you want. My life's an open book."

Abby shook her head. "Not about you. About...yesterday."

"Anything. But didn't Connor explain it all to you on the way home? 'Course, you might not have understood it all - it's like he's speaking a different language when he gets talking about computers, isn't it? I didn't even understand it all, and I was there."

In fact, she'd been blown away by Connor yesterday. He was clearly a genius, despite his bumbling exterior - no wonder Lester regarded him so highly.

And Phillip feared him so.

"Connor kind of...skimmed over something," Abby continued hesitantly, "and I was wondering if you might be able to fill in the gaps."

Jess shrugged. "Not sure I can but I'll try."

"Connor mentioned he'd built a trapdoor...with a password..."

So THAT was it. She wondered which of them was finally going to broach the subject. "And you want to know why he was so evasive?" she finished with a smile.

Abby nodded.

"Well, can I answer your question with a question of my own?"

Abby looked confused by Jess's offer. "I...guess."

Jess looked Abby directly in the eyes and, gesturing across the room, asked bluntly, "Is there any reason why I should be sleeping on that EVIL futon when there's a spare bed available?"

Abby clearly wasn't a poker player for her face suddenly communicated the whole story - embarrassment, guilt, love. But before she could stammer out an apology or explanation, Jess raised a hand and continued.

"No need to explain. You were trapped together for a year - of course you'd want to stick close together now that you're back. I just thought...well, it wasn't in your files, you see," Jess finished with a wink.

"You won't tell anyone?" Abby asked.

Jess shrugged. "'Course not. That's your business. Though I'd think you'd want to at least tell Lester and Becker - I'm sure they'd be happy for you. And personally I'm thrilled for you - it means I can have my bed back. I don't think I could've taken another night on that futon."

She heard the water turn off and started to hurry off so she could retrieve some clean clothes from her bedroom.

"Wait," Abby said, and Jess turned in the doorway. "What does...us...have to do with Connor's password?"

Jess merely smiled as she ducked into her room. It was clear that Connor wouldn't have carried a torch for so long for someone who wasn't a genius herself, so Jess left it to Abby to figure out for herself.

...


	3. Chapter 3

Reluctant Roomies Pt. 3

by phoebenpiper

[Note: Contains spoilers for Series 4 Episode 4.]

[Note: I'm assuming that Jess & Abby had a conversation back at the ARC similar to the one in the awesome story "Reality Check" by The King's Soldier! You should totally check out her story!]

...

Jess could feel the tension as they drove back to her flat. She would've thought that Abby was upset with her for blowing the whistle, but the blonde girl had already talked to her, thanked her, in fact, for ratting her out to Lester. So clearly the hostility that was filling the car with angry silence had nothing to do with her.

And had all to do with Connor.

Jess didn't know what had transpired between Abby and Connor at work - they'd seemed happy enough this morning. But clearly something had happened.

And clearly Connor was the one owing an apology for he'd tried several times to start, but he never got past "Abby, I..." before Abby's look silenced him again.

Under ordinary circumstances Jess would've been doing her best to keep the tone light and their spirits up - having come from a broken home, Jess hated this sort of tension and usually tried her best to dissipate it, to put the focus elsewhere and bring the topic around to something cheerful that everyone could participate in.

But Jess was too wrapped up in her own thoughts for that. Work today had been a full-on reality check. She'd never watched a person die before. Of course, technically the first bite had only knocked the young girl out - her heart had probably continued to beat until after the creature dragged her under the bleachers and...

Jess shivered at the memory and all that it meant: the girl had died, and she hadn't stopped it. Jess felt the guilt descending on her again. If only she'd seen her sooner, if only she'd directed Matt & Becker there quicker, if only...

Sighing, Jess tried to calm herself down. Abby's comforting words came back to her again: six people had been in that building, and five of them had survived, thanks to her. Jess had done her job, and done it well, and they couldn't be expected to save everybody, yeah?

But still the responsibility of it all suddenly felt like a burden too heavy to bear. Sure, people had been killed on missions before. But not in front of her eyes. And not a young, innocent girl, probably no more than a few years younger than Jess herself.

Perhaps that was why this was so upsetting, Jess realized. She saw herself in that young girl, and if the girl could die, so could she. Coming face to face with one's own mortality was never an easy thing.

So why do it? Why not simply push all thoughts of mortality to the back of her mind? For tonight, anyway!

"I was thinking..." Jess's chipper voice suddenly sounding through the tense silence made everyone in the car jump, including herself. Taking a deep breath, she collected herself and continued, "Perhaps I could cook for us all tonight. I mean, take-out is all well and good, but I'm sure you've both been hungering for a real home-cooked meal. There's this fantastic recipe I saw on 'Something for the Weekend' that I've been dying to try, and I know it's not the weekend, but what d'you say?"

Jess decided to take their silence as a yes.

...

As Jess rinsed the final pan and set it on the rack to dry, she broached the topic of bedtime. "So, sleeping arrangements. I believe I was promised my own bed back tonight?" She smiled expectantly at Abby.

The blonde girl nodded, her voice strangely flat as she answered, "Of course. It's your home, you deserve to sleep in your own bed."

Jess saw a smile light up Connor's face for the first time all evening.

But that smile quickly faded as Abby continued, "Connor can sleep on the futon tonight."

"What?"

Connor's response sounded more like the yelp of a kicked puppy than an actual word, but Abby didn't seem to care. She stood and walked off to the spare room, shutting the door firmly behind her.

Something Jess had recently overheard Connor say suddenly came to mind: "Clearly you've not seen Abby in a bad mood." Now she understood exactly what he'd meant.

Grabbing the pile of blankets, she handed them to a stunned Connor, flashing him an apologetic smile. "Sorry. The futon is really uncomfortable - torture, some might say - so my apologies in advance."

He nodded absently. Clearly the comfort of the futon was the last thing on his mind right now.

...

"Abby?" Connor rapped softly on the spare room door. Several minutes passed as he waited, his ears craning to hear any noises from inside, before trying again. "Abby, please?"

The door suddenly flew open, causing him to jump back in surprise.

"What d'you want, Connor?" Abby's voice was flat, her hand on the doorframe, blocking his entry.

Connor instinctively gulped. "Can we talk?"

Abby merely shrugged, as if to say, "Aren't we talking now?"

Connor waited, expecting to be invited in, but no invitation was forthcoming. Finally, he asked, "Can't I...come in?"

"Why?"

Connor gulped nervously again. He couldn't remember the last time Abby had been so mad, and it shook him to his very foundation. He struggled to think of a reason why they shouldn't have this argument in the doorway, a reason Abby would buy.

"Jess will hear us?" Connor tentatively suggested.

The point seemed to hit home, for Abby stepped back and held the door open for him. As he stepped into the room, he heard the door being shut behind him. He turned to see Abby standing with her arms folded across her chest, her eyes cold.

Connor gulped again, trying to gather the courage to do this. "Abby, I'm sorry. I'm sorry you think I let you down."

"'Think'?" Abby spat the word back at him.

This wasn't going to be easy. "I'm sorry I let you down," he quickly corrected. "I'm sorry that you...felt abandoned."

"Oh yes, it all comes down to how I FEEL, doesn't it?" Abby asked bitterly. "And now's not a good time to be getting all emotional, yeah?"

Connor sighed in frustration as he heard his words repeated back to him. "That's not what I meant. You know how much I care about Rex. But what was I supposed to do, Abby? There was an anomaly. I had to go. It's my job."

"There was an anomaly at the theatre, but somehow you managed to get out of that."

"Abby, that's not fair. You know Phillip asked..."

"Oh yes, it ALL comes down to Phillip. He says 'jump' and you ask 'how high?' But when I need you, when REX needs you...!" Abby ended her sentence with an angry sigh and a shake of her head.

"Phillip is my boss. OUR boss, Abby. I can't just-"

"Tell him no? Tell him killing all the animals is a bad idea? No, you're right, he's our boss, so we should merely stand aside and let him slaughter everything I've worked for!"

"Abby, you said it yourself - we don't really have the proper facilities to take care of all the animals. And Phillip had a good point - how many of them will we actually get home?"

"Oh right, they're an INCONVENIENCE, so why not kill them all?"

"Abby-"

"Don't you see, Connor? Those animals are US! They're stranded, millions of years from home, ALONE! Can't you see how scared and lonely they must be? Maybe Phillip can't imagine what that's like, but we've been there, Connor. For an entire YEAR! We were stranded outside of our time, and for what? Why did we struggle to stay alive, to get back here? You said it yourself, we fought to get back so we could continue Cutter's work. Yet you know as well as I do that Cutter never would've sanctioned killing all the animals, nor Danny! Hell, even LESTER didn't want that to happen. And neither did you. Until now. Until Phillip."

The venom in her final words still hung in the silence that followed. Her hatred of Phillip was crystal clear, and much as it upset Connor to see Abby so hurt, it also upset him to hear her say such things about Phillip Burton, a bonafide science god.

"Phillip isn't the enemy," Connor stated quietly but firmly.

Abby let out a laugh. "Well, you sure as hell could've fooled me."

"He's our BOSS, Abby. Like it or not."

"Yeah, it's clear which side of that 'or' you fall on. 'Phillip's so perfect.' 'Phillip rocks.' Phillip tried to kill Rex, Connor. Phillip is not the saint you make him out to be."

Anger was slowly growing in Connor. True, Phillip wasn't perfect, but he'd probably never wasted much time considering the animals. His idea to kill them had been rash, no doubt, but upon reflection, he'd changed his mind to a more humane approach. Yet Abby was acting like he was still some dinosaur killer, and Connor wasn't going to let Abby continue to slander him so.

"And Phillip is not the devil you make him out to be, Abby. He changed his mind."

"Yeah, no thanks to you."

"He's a brilliant man, Abby. He realized that there were better options. But I don't blame him for considering it."

Abby started to protest, but Connor quickly continued.

"I mean, think about it, Abby. Phillip had a point. And unlike us, he has the purse-strings to consider. He probably doesn't want to get stuck throwing millions of pounds down the drain, and for what? To save some predators that might get loose and kill again?"

"Rex wouldn't kill anyone! Nor Sid and Nancy!"

"But the mammoth could. It DID, in fact, or don't you remember the carnage on the motorway? And those things we were fighting today, Abby - they killed a girl. An innocent young girl! And they almost killed Becker!"

"So what are you saying? We should just kill anything that's dangerous? Then why not kill all the pit bulls, too? They've been known to kill. Hell, while we're at it, let's go on safari to Africa and kill all the lions and leopards and hyenas - don't want them around to hurt anyone!"

Connor shook his head. "Now you're just being ridiculous."

"Oh! First I'm emotional, and now I'm ridiculous! It's good to see your misogynistic side finally rearing it's ugly head!"

"What?"

"Just go hang out with your mate Phillip, Connor. The two of you can go save the world together without being slowed down by us stupid, emotional girls."

Connor felt as if he'd been punched in the stomach. He'd never thought of Abby as being any less because she was female. He fully admitted she'd always been a better fighter than him and certainly a better shot. And they'd both saved each other's lives more times than he could remember. He'd always viewed them as equals, as partners. Especially after the year they'd just spent together. So to have her accuse him of such now was more than he could bear.

Stunned and hurt, Connor quietly turned and walked out of the room. He heard the door slam behind him, followed by Abby dissolving to tears behind the closed door, but his brain barely registered it. Feeling numb and lost, he fumbled his way back to the futon in the dark.

...

Abby felt like she'd been running forever. Her lungs ached, and her legs felt like jelly. But she couldn't stop - not now.

"Connor!"

She called his name for what felt like the zillionth time, but there was still no answer. She hoped that meant he was merely out of hearing range and not the more grisly alternative. She scolded herself for getting them into this situation, but now wasn't the time for placing blame. Now was the time for running.

Abby ducked, narrowly avoiding a tree branch. Unfortunately the motion upset her balance, so when her foot stumbled upon an exposed root, she went sprawling onto the ground. Her splayed hands, meant to catch her fall, were suddenly pierced by dozens of pine needles, and her ankle now throbbed, having wrenched it when she'd fallen, but she knew she couldn't give in to the pain - she had to keep going.

As she stumbled to her feet, she heard a rattling noise behind her and realized it was too late. Despite the futility of it, she tried once again to run, but she instantly felt the raptor's claws digging into her back as it leapt upon her, and suddenly she was falling...falling...

Abby awoke with a start, her heart racing and her breath ragged. It took her a moment to realize that she was not being devoured by a raptor nor sleeping on the cold, hard ground, a crinkly survival blanket wrapped about her - instead she was safely lying in a comfortable bed, snuggled under a toasty duvet to keep warm. She let out a relieved sigh, glad the nightmare was over. Closing her eyes, she instinctively attempted to nestle closer to Connor. When she didn't feel his warm chest against her back nor his arms wrapping around her, she drowsily reached behind her, seeking him out. But her roving hand didn't find him - instead it merely found empty, cold sheets and a still-damp pillow.

It was the dampness that brought Abby to a full state of awareness. She now remembered that she'd gone to bed alone, bitterly crying herself to sleep. She and Connor may no longer be in the Cretaceous, but they weren't quite out of the woods just yet.

She was suddenly wide awake as the memories of yesterday came flooding back in the darkness. The sense of panic that had first overcome her when she'd feared Rex was to be killed threatened to engulf her once again, and she struggled to stay calm. The animals weren't to be exterminated, Abby reminded herself - Lester had seen to that. She found it somewhat hard to believe that the caustic bureaucrat in his pretentious striped suit had been her knight in shining armour, but for once he'd really come through for her.

And Connor hadn't.

Though Abby realized now that that assessment wasn't completely fair. Connor hadn't left her simply to gad about with his mates - he'd gone off to do his job, THEIR job, saving lives. Yet she still couldn't help feeling somewhat abandoned by him. Rex's very life had been in danger, yet Connor hadn't made any sort of effort to stay with her, let alone speak up in Rex's defense. Instead he'd gone, leaving her behind to try to save all the animals by herself, a task that she could now admit to herself would've been impossible to accomplish alone. Thank goodness Lester had come along when he had, or it was likely she might've been hurt.

And while the immediate danger for the animals was now over, she couldn't help but feel a strange sense of foreboding. Although Phillip had changed his mind, she got the feeling that he hadn't had a true change of heart. He clearly didn't like the animals, Rex in particular, and Abby sensed he wasn't too keen on her either, though that feeling was definitely mutual.

Phillip was, from everything that Abby had seen so far, a proud man, but it wasn't merely a simple arrogance but a true sinful pride. It was clear that his pride had been injured by the recent scan fiasco, which is no doubt what had caused him to lash out heedlessly against Rex. Abby somehow guessed that this wasn't the first time he'd done such a thing, nor would it be the last.

And who would he lash out at next time? Her? Lester? The entire Anomaly Research Centre? Phillip Burton was a powerful man, and she knew exactly what horrors he was capable of, so she naturally feared what he might do.

Yet Connor seemed to trust him implicitly. He'd always been too gullible for his own good - his fault came from wanting to see the best in people, especially those he respected and admired. He'd even tried to see the best in Helen, for he couldn't believe that Cutter would've married a bad person. But Connor had eventually realized the truth about Helen, had seen her for the monster she truly was.

Abby just hoped he was able to see the truth about Phillip. Before it was too late.

...


	4. Chapter 4

RR#4

by phoebenpiper

[Contains spoilers for Series 4, Ep 5. Rated T for humourously-implied sexual situations.]

...

"You came here in that thing?" Connor asked as they walked across the grass towards the caravan. "You're braver than I thought."

"Sometimes we have to improvise," Abby replied with a shrug. "I mean, how else did you expect me to get the worm down here - leave a trail of breadcrumbs?"

Connor sighed to himself, disappointed that Abby hadn't caught on to his _Star Wars_ reference.

Abby, however, didn't notice and continued: "It did make rather a mess of the caravan, though, not to mention the park. I'm not sure how we're going to explain it all to the friendly folk of Witchfield."

"It sure makes you miss Jenny, don't it? She was brilliant at spinning stories to cover everything up. You know, sometimes I even believed her myself, and I KNEW what was really happening."

Abby chuckled, and Connor lovingly squeezed her hand. He hadn't let go of her since they'd climbed back up the cliff, and hearing her beautiful laugh reminded him once again just how much he thought he'd lost back there in the cave.

"So how about that story YOU spun back there on the farm?" Abby teased. "Lester would be none too pleased to know you blithely gave away our entire operation to some crazed local."

"I'm no good at lying, what can I say?" Connor shrugged. "So I figured my best bet was to stick with the truth 'cuz she probably wouldn't believe me anyway. I mean, a secret government agency? Prehistoric creatures? You'd have to be daft to believe that rubbish. And what did the barman say? 'Only children and drunks believe in the worm'? The same's probably true for the ARC...though I'm not exactly sure how we fit into those categories."

Abby smiled. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind downing some pints tonight."

Connor chuckled. "But surely not with that lot back at the pub. They didn't like us much this morning, and after the havoc we just wreaked, I somehow don't think we'd be very popular."

"Perhaps not. But Matt definitely owes us a round for going off and leaving us."

"A round? SEVERAL rounds is more like it!" Connor knew that Matt had had to leave, but still, with Becker out on medical leave, it had left him and Abby in an awkward spot, especially when they'd been expected to track both the worm AND the anomaly. Connor hadn't felt comfortable letting Abby go off alone after the worm knowing it had already killed several people, but what choice had he had?

His mind suddenly flashed on another choice he had still waiting for him back at the ARC: Phillip's offer. Connor desperately wanted to take it - it was a dream come true just to be asked! Yet it occurred to him that he couldn't very well be frustrated with Matt for leaving for one day when he was considering leaving permanently.

And when it came down to it, he didn't want to leave. Like it or not, THIS was his job, and it had been ever since first spotting that gorgonopsid in the Forest of Dean. He was a part of the team, a team whose mission was to save people's lives, and he couldn't abandon them now, not after he and Abby had fought so hard to get back here.

So that's it then, Connor thought as he let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't realised until now quite how much the decision had been weighing on him all day, but he suddenly felt like a great weight had been lifted. He was disappointed that he couldn't take Phillip's offer when he so desperately wanted to say yes, but he knew in his heart that this was the correct decision.

No longer feeling the need to dwell on it, his thoughts returned to the present, to both the hand held tightly in his and the caravan they had almost reached. Yet something seemed off about the large vehicle and, as they neared it, he finally realised what it was: the caravan was sitting slightly off-kilter due, Connor now observed, to one of the front tyres being wedged into a tree.

"Abby, you crashed!" Connor exclaimed, stopping dead in his tracks.

"It was nothing," Abby shrugged dismissively, continuing across the grass. However, Connor still had ahold of her hand and gently swung her around in front of him. He grasped her shoulders, worriedly giving her a once-over, searching for signs of injury. After looking her up and down, he tenderly brushed aside her blonde fringe, exposing a large bruise on her forehead. "Abby!"

She ducked away from his hand, explaining, "I'm fine, Connor. Really. I was only out for a few minutes."

"You were knocked out?" Connor was suddenly reminded that the creatures weren't the only cause of injuries on this job, which only reinforced his decision to stick with the team.

"It's nothing, Connor," Abby said, wrenching herself away from his grip and starting to walk again. "And besides, it's not like you've never been knocked unconscious," she teased good-naturedly.

Connor scampered after her. "That's true," he agreed. "Today, in fact."

Now it was Abby's turn to stop suddenly. "Today? You got knocked out today?"

Connor nodded. "Yep. Down in the cave. Worm-boy hit me with his rifle."

Abby tenderly touched his temple, a look of concern on her face. "You okay."

I am now, Connor thought, nodding.

Abby shook her head, commenting with a grin, "What a pair we make, yeah?"

The sexiest grin on the planet, as far as Connor was concerned.

"You know, we both might have concussions," he began. "Perhaps we should...keep each other awake all night...just to make sure we're both okay." His eyes twinkled with mischief as he wriggled his brows suggestively.

Abby laughed before pointing out, "But Connor, what about Jess?"

Connor's smile instantly deflated. "Oh yeah." He led out a frustrated moan. "We REALLY need to find our own place, and SOON."

"Well, the caravan's not going anywhere," Abby said matter-of-factly, gesturing to the empty vehicle.

"Yeah, 'cuz you crashed it."

Abby rolled her eyes and then looked hard at him. "Yes...but it's out here in the middle of nowhere...and it's not going anywhere...and we're here...and Jess is back at the ARC...?"

Under her intense gaze, Connor finally caught on to what she was getting out. "And we'd have the entire place to ourselves."

Abby gave him a flirtatiously peck on the cheek, clearly pleased that he'd finally understood what she was getting at.

And he was rather pleased himself!

...

Jess dashed out of the toilet, down the long hall, and across the main floor of the ARC. She knew she was probably drawing unwanted attention to herself, but she didn't really care - time was of the essence. As she reached the ADD, she lunged at the keyboard, not even bothering to sit down as she frantically pounded on the keys.

"Jess?"

She heard Phillip walking up behind her. Now that the immediate crisis was over, she calmly took her seat, though she could still feel her face flushing.

"Everything okay?" Phillip asked.

Jess turned a cheery smile to him. "Just fine."

He eyed her warily. "Are you sure? You seemed...?"

She shook her head. "No, it's fine. Really. They just didn't...it's nothing."

Phillip didn't look convinced but let the topic drop. She saw him turn towards the ADD, searching the various monitors for something.

"How soon till Connor gets back?" he asked, and Jess could feel her face growing warm again.

"He's...still in Witchfield," she answered truthfully.

Phillip furrowed his brow. "Nothing's wrong, I hope."

Jess had never been so grateful for the dim lighting in the room. "No, nothing at all. The team's just...uh...tying up some loose ends in the town before they leave."

Phillip nodded, not quite convinced, and started to wander off. "Do let me know when Connor gets back," he added.

"Absolutely," Jess said, watching as the powerful man strode away.

Once he was gone, she turned back around to her console, remembering to turn the volume back up on her own mic. Her first week at the ARC she'd learned the hard way to turn it down before going to the toilet; thank goodness it had only been Lester who'd overheard anything that day, for she might've quit on the spot if it'd been Becker. Her earpiece, however, was always on whilst at work, as it was her job to constantly monitor the team members in the field in case of an emergency.

Of course, the system didn't work if the team didn't leave their mics on. Matt was constantly turning his off and "forgetting" to turn it back on. Oftentimes it was impossible to get in touch with the man, which was beyond frustrating for Jess, especially as he was the team leader. Luckily, Abby and Connor didn't followed Matt's lead and were actually good about keeping their mics on.

Perhaps TOO good.

"So, any word from Hansel and Gretel?"

Lester's voice behind her made Jess jump. She turned, raising an eyebrow as she clarified, "You mean Connor and Abby?"

"Yes, yes," he replied impatiently. "So how soon before they're back from Witchfield?"

"They...uh...haven't left yet."

"Haven't left?"

"Don't worry," Jess said, trying to calm her boss. "I'm sure they'll be coming soon."

Lester's expression didn't change, but it suddenly struck Jess as to what she'd just said, and she could feel her face flush a deep red. Flustered, she stammered, "I mean, they're certainly almost done...done dealing with the worm...with the anomaly, I mean!" Jess suddenly wished the Dracorex would escape from the menagerie and eat her simply to put her out of her misery.

Luckily Lester didn't seem phased by her babbling. He merely raised a condescending eyebrow and commented, "Very well. Let me know when they're back - I need to apprise them of the Matt situation."

Jess nodded. "Absolutely. I'll let you know the instant they're here."

Lester started to stroll back towards his office but then paused. "And Jess, do let them know that any, shall we say, 'recreational activities' will be strictly considered off-the-clock for paycheck purposes." He gave a knowing nod and turned back around.

Jess's jaw dropped. She was both surprised that he knew what was going on and horrified that he wanted her to mention it to them - it was bad enough that she'd overheard way more than she should've. "Me? But...but you're their boss! Isn't that why you get paid the big money?"

"You really need to work on that sarcasm, Jess," Lester tossed back over his shoulder as he entered his office, leaving her alone to contemplate the embarrassing task she had in front of her.

...

Abby's head was throbbing. And it wasn't simply because of the injury she'd sustained earlier in the day. No, this headache was definitely being caused by her flatmates, who were doing everything in their power to drive her nutty tonight!

She was tired - exhausted, in fact - which wasn't helping her mood. Today had been a long, eventful day, so she was glad that they'd decided not to go to the pub after all, instead opting for a quiet evening at home.

If only it had actually BEEN quiet.

Jess had not stopped talking since they'd left work. Yet it wasn't like she had anything to say. It almost seemed as if she kept feeling uncomfortable with the topic of conversation and wanted to change it...yet she was the one picking the topics in the first place. Abby had hoped that watching a movie would shut the girl up, but obviously they should've picked something other than _Pirates of the Caribbean_ because Jess had been providing them with a non-stop commentary, apparently being a huge Disney fan as well as a fount of random Johnny Depp trivia.

And if that wasn't enough to deal with, Connor had clearly lost his mind.

She'd been so annoyed with him this morning, although that seemed like ages ago now. He'd spent the entire drive to Witchfield nervously babbling about Phillip's offer. Clearly he'd been excited about the prospect, but she could tell he was conflicted. She wasn't, though - she simply didn't trust Phillip or anything he did. But she didn't want to be that girl who orders her boyfriend around, so she'd resolved to let Connor make his own decision, even though she worried it might be the wrong one.

Later, though, after the cave, she could tell that he'd made up his mind. She hadn't pressed him on the topic, but he'd confessed to her what she'd already figured out: he was part of the team, and he didn't want to let go of that, especially if it meant watching her going off on dangerous missions whilst he stayed back in the lab. Once they'd returned to the ARC, she'd seen him talking to Phillip so she knew that he'd gotten that out of the way, which was certainly a relief.

So that wasn't what was driving her crazy tonight.

To a certain extent, the way Connor was acting reminded her of one day last year. He'd returned from a fishing expedition to find a young raptor snacking on flesh. He'd instantly assumed the worst and attacked the creature, scaring it off. He was still standing over the body of the half-eaten animal, tears streaming down his face, when Abby had found him - he'd been so happy to find her alive he'd practically bowled her over with his enthusiastic hug. For the rest of the day he'd clung to her side like a lost puppy, as if he held her very life in his grip and never wanted to let it go.

Clearly what had happened in the cave today had had a similar effect on him. And if he'd merely been excessively clingy all evening, she would've been fine with it. In fact, it was reassuring to know how much she meant to him.

But something seemed off about the way he was acting tonight. He was almost like a student struggling to stay awake in class - he'd seem to be completely relaxed and then would suddenly flinch, as if he didn't want to give in to the coziness. At first she thought he was uncomfortable being affectionate in front of their flatmate, but that theory went out the window when they'd chosen seats for watching the movie. He'd invited Abby to sit in front of him on the couch, immediately wrapping his arms about her in a snuggly embrace, and he hadn't budged when Jess sat down next to them, so clearly it wasn't an issue of him being self-conscious with her around.

So what was his problem? What was causing the tension and making him flinch? It didn't seem to be annoyance at Jess's constant monologue, although Abby herself found it irritating. And it clearly wasn't the movie, for he knew it practically by heart and kept mumbling the lines quietly under his breath. So what was distracting him? Why couldn't he just relax...or simply tell her what was on his mind?

Obviously Jess was willing to say anything and everything that was on her mind:

"You know, when Orlando Bloom was on _Extras_, they made this huge deal about how competitive he was with Johnny Depp regarding their looks and how threatened he felt by him. It must've been a lark for Orlando to play that because he obviously idolizes Johnny in real life. Besides, that episode was so funny because Orlando couldn't even fathom that Maggie didn't find him hot, so to get her to come around he totally gave her this passionate-oh...!

"Uh...I mean...you know...Johnny Depp had never really done much singing before _Sweeney Todd_. I didn't know how he'd be, but he was surprisingly good. I think Johnny really enjoyed the part, and clearly so did Helena Bonham Carter. She's so good at playing devious. My favourite scene is where the little boy is singing that he'll protect her from Sweeney, but really she's the one that's been lying to him this entire time. It's so sad because he completely trusts her, but..."

Jess continued on, but Abby was no longer paying any attention. Connor had been affectionately nuzzling his cheek against hers when suddenly he'd flinched uncomfortably, as if he'd just touched his face to a hotplate. Abby had done nothing to discourage him and had, in fact, leaned into his touch, so why had he suddenly seemed so repelled for no apparent reason? Abby decided that she needed answers.

"For heaven's sake, what is your problem tonight?" she snapped, causing the other two people on the couch to jump.

She turned and glared at Connor, who looked like a kid who'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar; she was therefore completely taken aback by Jess spontaneously answering instead.

"I'm sorry!" Jess said, grabbing the remote and hitting pause before blathering on nervously. "I know I've been acting strange, but it's just...I mean...I didn't know how to bring it up-bring the topic up, I mean...and Lester said I had to, but you're my friends, and I'd've rather just forgotten about the whole incident if I could, but-"

"Jess," Connor interrupted, putting up a hand to stop her rambling. "What are you talking about?"

Abby noticed her boyfriend looked just as surprised and confused as she did.

Their flatmate buried her face in her hands, mumbling to herself, "Perhaps it's like removing a sticking plaster, and if I do it quickly, at least it'll all be over."

Abby merely stared at Jess, all thoughts of Connor's weird behaviour long gone. The room descended into an uncomfortable silence as she and Connor waited for Jess to continue.

"Jess?" Connor finally prompted.

The girl took a deep breath, lowered her hands into her lap, and looked directly at her flatmates as she stated matter-of-factly, "In the future, you might want to...um...turn down the volume on your mics."

She stopped there, but she didn't really need to explain further - Abby could already feel her cheeks starting to blush.

"'Turn down the volume'?" Connor repeated back blankly.

Apparently she DID need to explain more, at least for Connor, but Abby really didn't want Jess to say anything further. She quickly elbowed her boyfriend, mumbling under her breath, "She heard us, Connor."

He still seemed lost. "Heard us what?"

Abby gave him a chagrined look, and realization finally dawned. "Oh!" He turned to Jess, a look of horror on his face. "Our mics were on?"

Jess nodded, looking extremely uncomfortable. "I didn't hear all of it! I turned them off as soon as I could. But...well...that's not the worst of it."

Connor closed his eyes, as if that would make the whole humiliating incident disappear. "Don't tell me Phillip heard, too."

Now it was Abby's turn to flinch - the mere mention of Phillip's name made her feel uncomfortable - but Connor was so distracted by his own humiliation that he didn't seem to notice.

"Oh no, I'm certain I'm was the only one who heard anything," Jess quickly reassured them, which was a huge load off Abby's mind. "But...um...Lester somehow knew...what was going on...and told me to tell you that...um...such activities are not considered official ARC business and...uh...you won't get paid for the time you were...um..."

"Yes, we get it, Jess," Abby said quickly. She just wanted the conversation to be over, so the less said, the better.

Connor, however, looked stricken. "Lester knew? How?"

Jess shook her head. "I didn't ask."

"That's probably for the best," Abby confirmed. She knew Lester was far more perceptive than most people gave him credit for. He hadn't said anything to her and Connor about the two of them now being together, but he must've noticed that their friendship had developed into something more when they were stuck on the far side of the anomaly. And if Jess had been acting as embarrassed and weird in front of Lester this afternoon as she'd been tonight, it was no surprise that he'd put two and two together.

Though it didn't make it any less embarrassing.

"You know," Jess said, standing up suddenly, "I think I'm going to call it an early night." She gestured towards the remote, adding, "Feel free to watch the rest of the movie if you want, or just go to bed...or sleep...I mean...you know...I think I'll just...I have earplugs, so...yeah. Good night!" And Jess hurried off into her bedroom, her face a bright red.

Abby's face felt rather warm itself.

"Tomorrow," Connor whispered into Abby's ear as they heard the bedroom door shut. "Tomorrow we definitely need to step up our apartment-hunting."

"Sounds perfect - assuming there's no anomaly, that is." Abby nestled comfortably back into Connor's arms. "Of course, I'll have work to do in the menagerie, so you should probably take charge of that, yeah?"

She thought she felt him ever so slightly flinch, but she decided she must've imagined it for he immediately pulled her in closer.

"Yep. I can do that. Absolutely. Because it's not like I'd be doing anything else in my spare time. I mean, I don't have any other..."

Abby cut him off with a kiss, glad that the tension between them was gone. It felt so good just to sit together like this, alone, wrapped in Connor's loving embrace.

And after all, Jess had said she'd be wearing earplugs...

...


	5. Chapter 5

Reluctant Roomies

by phoebenpiper

...

Note - contains Spoilers for Series 4 Episode 6.

...

Abby jumped when the door finally opened. She thought at first it might be Connor, coming back again - she had simply not answered when he'd tentatively knocked earlier, and she knew he was the type to check back, to make sure she was okay - so she was relieved when she saw it was only Jenny, finally returning with the ice.

"What took you so long?" Abby asked.

"I thought I heard something outside, so I went to investigate." Abby raised an eyebrow and Jenny continued, "I know, it was stupid of me under the circumstances, but luckily I didn't find anything. I'm sure it was nothing, just pre-wedding jitters." She set down the bucket of ice, asking, "Want me to top you off?" Abby immediately handed her an empty champagne glass, causing Jenny to laugh, "I guess that's a yes." She filled both glasses and then joined Abby on the bed, a twinkle in her eye. "So…you and Connor?"

Abby sighed - she'd simply wanted to forget about Connor's "we should get married here" comment from the moment he'd said it, yet she'd been unable to think about anything else since. Abby took a large sip of champagne before answering, noticing that the bubbly was already starting to go to her head. "Yes, that was…unexpected," she said, choosing her word carefully.

A look of alarm suddenly crossed Jenny's face. "But you two are at least together now, right? PLEASE tell me you're together."

Abby found Jenny's attitude a bit unnerving but answered warily, "Yeah, we're together."

"That's a relief," Jenny said with a sigh. "I was suddenly worried that Connor still hadn't...well, it was a long time coming." The twinkle in her eye returned. "So...how? When? Give me all the details!"

Abby found it strange to be talking to Jenny again after such a long time. She seemed so different now – happy, as Abby had explained to Connor. But even when they'd worked together, the two of them had never really done the "girl-talk" thing. Besides, Jenny had always seemed closer to Connor than her; Abby assumed that their mutual closeness to Cutter had forged a special bond between them, something she and Jenny never quite shared.

Abby therefore wasn't really sure she wanted to go into all the juicy details with Jenny, so she simply replied, "It's a long story," hoping that would suffice.

"Sounds perfect," Jenny replied. "I've got…," she glanced at the antique clock on the wall before continuing, "six or seven hours before I need to think about getting up, and I doubt I could sleep tonight anyway. So spill - I want to hear all about it."

Abby smiled, amazed at how girlish Jenny seemed. _Of course she's excited; she's getting married tomorrow,_ Abby reminded herself, which brought Connor's comment and all her associated feelings to the forefront again. The problem was, she wasn't quite sure WHAT she was feeling. She was upset, she knew that much, but she couldn't quite figure out why. Was it because he was taking things too fast, talking about marriage when they hadn't even had a chance to get settled back in to normal life yet? Or was it because she, too, wanted to get married, yet now he was planning it all without her? Or was it something in-between?

Jenny was still looking at her eagerly, expecting a good story, so Abby downed the champagne in her glass to gather some courage before beginning. "Did you hear about...what happened to us?"

Jenny shook her head. "I haven't heard a thing about the team since I left. I expected James, at least, to stay in touch, but..." She shrugged, concluding with, "I guess we all get busy."

"Then I should probably start at the beginning," Abby said, somewhat relieved - in her current state, it was going to be far easier to talk about facts than feelings. "Helen came back."

Jenny shivered. "You know, of all the creatures to ever come through an anomaly, I think Helen Cutter was by far the scariest."

Abby laughed, the light-headedness she'd started to feel earlier now definitely taking hold. "She definitely ranks up there."

"So what did Helen want this time?" Jenny asked glibly, but immediately a cloud seemed to pass in front of her, as if she were suddenly remembering what Helen's deadly intentions had resulted in last time. For the first time since their reunion, Abby saw pain and sadness in Jenny's eyes, and she waited while the bride-to-be took a large swig of her champagne before continuing.

"Helen had grander plans this time," Abby stated, hoping to get all the bad news out of the way as quickly as she could. "She hoped to exterminate the entire human race before it even began."

"Lovely," Jenny said, grabbing the champagne bottle and refilling both her and Abby's glasses. "I'm guessing you stopped her?"

Abby nodded. "We believe so," she stated honestly.

Jenny laughed. "That doesn't sound very convincing."

"We – Danny, Connor, and I – followed her into the future anomaly. It turns out the artefact was an integral piece of an instrument that mapped out all the anomalies - Cutter had been spot-on with his 3-D models. With the instrument, Helen created a path through two anomalies back to the site where humans were believed to have originated, intending to kill them all. Luckily, we managed to follow her through the first anomaly into the Cretaceous."

Jenny gave a questioning look, and Abby explained, "The end of the dinosaurs – raptors, spinosauridae, pterosaurs…."

"Sounds like fun," Jenny teased.

"Oh yeah."

But the terrifying memories of their year spent with those creatures started flooding back. Abby to took another long drink of champagne, trying to stave off those fears, before continuing: "Connor got hurt, so Danny went on without us. We…never saw him again."

The smile on Jenny's face instantly faded. "Danny's dead?"

Abby shook her head. "We don't know what happened to him. We assume he stopped Helen, because we're still here, but we have no way of knowing if he survived."

Jenny shook her head. "How awful."

"And...that's not all. The anomaly to get back had closed, and Connor and I were stranded, just the two of us, in the Cretaceous."

"Stranded?" Jenny looked horrified. "For how long?"

It felt so strange for Abby to finally be saying all this outloud. When they'd returned, everyone at the ARC already knew their story. And due to the secrecy of the entire ARC project, there was no one else she could tell. Abby had tried her best to push aside the memories of that time because most of them were too painful to hold on to – the only bright side, the only thing she wanted to remember, was Connor.

"We were there over a year." Abby finally replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Oh Abby, I'm so sorry! I had no idea!" Jenny looked stricken. "I wish I'd known; I wish James had told me; I wish...I wish I could've helped."

Abby shook her head. "There wasn't anything anyone could do - no one even knew where we were...WHEN we were," she corrected. "But the rest of the team tried to find us anyway - they sent mission after mission looking for us. But they all failed…and Sarah was killed."

"Sarah, too?" Tears welled up in Jenny's eyes, soon replaced by anger. "Why didn't James contact me? Surely he should've been aware I'd want to know, to send my condolences at the very least."

Abby shook her head, a motion that, considering how much alcohol she'd imbibed, made her extremely dizzy. "I think Lester probably assumed you wanted to put all this behind you."

"Well yes, but not like this." Jenny shook her head, mumbling to herself, "If only I'd...," before trailing off.

The two of them sat quietly side by side for a few minutes, each caught up in their own thoughts.

When Jenny finally spoke, it startled Abby. "So...you and Connor, I take it, got together…?"

"When we were stranded on the other side, yes," Abby said, thinking back to how his hope had kept her going when despair had threatened to overwhelm her. Caught up in this memory, she added almost to herself, "He was amazing."

Out of the corner of her eye, Abby noticed Jenny grin and arch a suggestive eyebrow, making her laugh. "Not like that!" Jenny continued to grin, so Abby admitted, "Okay, yes, he was amazing like that, too, but that's not what I meant. What I meant was he was..." Unbelievable. Brilliant. Lovely. There were so many words she could finish with but instead simply stated, "I never would've survived without him."

"And so now you're back…?" Jenny prompted.

Abby nodded. "We're back…and still together…and, for the moment, sharing a flat with Jess, one of our coworkers, believe it or not."

Jenny laughed. "That must be awkward."

"Tell me about it!" Abby agreed, her face turning red as she remembered the recent incident with the microphones. "We SO need to find our own place!" she said, downing the rest of her champagne.

Jenny reached over and drained the last of the bottle into their two glasses. "I propose a toast – to you and Connor...FINALLY getting together."

Abby held up her glass before her brain registered what Jenny had said. "What do you mean by 'finally'?"

"Oh please, Abby. I knew the moment I walked into the ARC that he fancied you - he's not exactly the most subtle, you know. And then you, with your blatant jealousy over - what was her name? Carolyn?"

Abby was appalled at the suggestion. "Me? Jealous of Caroline? Whatever gave you that idea?"

Jenny rolled her eyes. "You may be able to fool yourself, Abigail, but you can't fool me. It was plain to everyone how much it got under your skin having to share Connor's attention with someone else."

Abby couldn't think of a decent comeback, but at the moment she didn't really care. What did it matter anyway? She and Connor were together now - who cared about some petty jealousy from years ago?

"Poor Connor," Jenny continued, "he's probably been planning your wedding for years! No wonder that comment just slipped out today."

Abby had finally managed to forget about Connor's comment, but now it all came flooding back to her again. But with the alcohol in her system, she was no longer confused about the matter.

"You know, that's been bothering me all evening," Abby blurted out. "How dare he!"

Jenny giggled, the champagne clearly having gone to her head as well. "'How dare he' what?"

Abby started giggling herself. "I'm not sure!"

What she'd been mad about a moment ago was long gone, but the urge to tell him off remained. She reached over the side of the bed to grab her mobile but lost her balance and almost fell off onto the floor. Jenny grabbed her, splashing champagne on them both and causing them to collapse in a heap of giggles.

When their giggle fit finally started to wane, Jenny stood and wobbled her way over to the cabinet to grab another bottle of champagne. As Abby handed over her glass to be refilled, she noticed her mobile still in her hand.

"You know," she said, adamantly hitting Connor's number, "I think it's about time I gave that boy a piece of my mind."

...

"Becker, you really should go home."

But Jess could tell the Captain still wasn't listening for he walked straight past her and ordered two of his men to do ANOTHER thorough search of the stairwell, as if they'd missed something the last three times.

"Becker, it's late," she said, hurrying after him.

"Then go home, Jess," Becker said, clearly agitated with her. "There's nothing keeping you here."

_Nothing but you,_ Jess thought to herself as she watched him anxiously monitor his men's progress on the dismantling of the bomb. Jess shivered at the sight, thinking about how differently this night could've ended for them both.

Becker eventually turned away himself, glancing at his watch before calling out some orders to the man standing guard at the door.

"Becker, your men can handle this," Jess insisted. "Really! You should go home and get some sleep. There's nothing more you can do tonight. Your men will call if they find Ethan."

"Ethan," Becker grumbled under his breath. He scowled, shaking his head. "I wouldn't have lost him in the first place if you hadn't-"

He didn't finish the sentence, but he didn't need to - Jess knew exactly what he'd meant to say. It was exactly what had been eating away at her all night, why she'd felt compelled to stay till the wee hours following Becker around like a lost puppy, hoping to convince herself she was wrong. But now he'd just confirmed all her worst fears: she had caused all this. Becker never would've lost Ethan if she hadn't been in the car distracting him; instead, Ethan had gotten away…and Becker had almost died. And it was all her fault.

"I...I'm sorry," she said, turning around quickly and hurrying for the door, wanting to escape, to get as far from Becker and her guilt as possible.

"Jess, I…." Becker hurried over and grabbed her arm, turning her around. "I'm the one who's sorry. I shouldn't have said…." He shook his head before concluding, "It's not your fault."

"Yes, it is," she said, blinking rapidly in a futile attempt to keep the tears back. "I should've just dropped off the food and left. I never should've stayed. I mean, you were on a stake-out, and all I did was distract you. I shouldn't've-"

"Jess," Becker said, grabbing her by the shoulders to try to calm her. "You're not a distraction..." Jess was so upset, she failed to recognize the way Becker caught himself and quickly corrected, "You're not to blame for all this. Ethan's smart, he's cunning, and he's been a step ahead of us from the very beginning. I'm certain he was watching us earlier when we raided this place, and he clearly knew we'd be coming back for him. He laid a clever trap, and it's not your fault that I walked into it."

But Jess wasn't really listening. She was still completely overwhelmed by her own guilt, and all she wanted to do was to flee, to forget about everything that had happened here tonight.

She was so distressed, in fact, that she failed to notice that Becker was still gently holding her shoulders in his strong hands, looking down at her with a look of immense gratitude.

"You saved my life tonight."

His voice was soft, but the simple words penetrated Jess's flood of emotions, and she finally gained the courage to look up, to meet his gaze.

"Did I?" she asked, feeling a tear break free and roll down her cheek.

Becker smiled and nodded. "If you hadn't been here, if you had waited in the car like I..." He trailed off, and for the first time Jess saw real fear and vulnerability in his eyes. He shook his head before stating bluntly, "My men simply wouldn't have made it in time."

Jess smiled just as another tear spillt over. Becker tenderly brushed it aside, causing her to blush at his touch upon her cheek.

"Thank you," he concluded simply.

Suddenly Jess wasn't thinking about Ethan or the stake-out or the fact that she could've died tonight - instead, the only thing her mind could focus on was how it felt to be held in Becker's arms.

_And you wouldn't be here right now if it weren't for me,_ Jess thought to herself with pride. _Who's to blame doesn't really matter - what happened happened, and I was here. I stopped the bomb! I did it!_

"You owe me your life!"

Jess wasn't even aware that she'd said this last bit aloud until she saw the nervous look on Becker's face. He instantly let go of her shoulders and took a step back, suggesting, "How about I just owe you chocolate instead?"

Jess wanted the ground to open up and swallow her - here Becker had been acting all sweet, and she'd had to go and ruin it! Why did she always have to do that?

But she then realized that Becker wasn't making a big deal about what she'd said, so perhaps she shouldn't either.

"Sounds great," she said, grateful that Becker had given her an easy out. "In fact, chocolate would be even better." She then remembered her caveat that she always gave and quickly added, "But-"

"-no orange," Becker said in unison with her.

Jess's face lit up. "You remembered!"

Becker nodded, adding casually, "Of course I remembered," as he walked over to one of his men and spoke to him.

Jess was ecstatic! Guys didn't remember girls' chocolate preferences unless they liked them, right? So the fact that he'd remembered must be a good sign.

"C'mon," Becker said, handing Jess her coat. "It's time you went home."

"Home?" Jess was crushed. Here she'd been thinking that he liked her, yet now he was pushing her out the door.

He must've seen her disappointed look for he explained, "It's late. You said it yourself."

As Becker led her towards the door, she asked hopefully, "Are you going home, too?"

He shook his head. "Not yet." Jess started to protest so he quickly added, "Soon. I promise."

He gave a nod to the man standing sentry at the door and then started to head down the stairs with Jess.

"Where are you going?' she asked, now thoroughly confused by his behaviour.

"Ethan may still be in the neighbourhood," Becker explained, "so I'm walking you to your car. Besides, it's late...and it's my job to protect the team."

"Oh. Of course."

Jess might've been upset that he was merely lumping her in with the rest of "the team", but instead she couldn't seem to wipe the smile off her face.

First he'd remembered her favourite chocolate, and now he was chivalrously walking her to her car!

This had to be the best night ever!

...

"You're home! I'm so glad - I have so much to tell you! But first you have to tell me all about the wedding. It looked so beautiful, at least what little I could see. And Jenny made such a lovely bride - she looked so different from the photos in her file. Not that anyone's file photos really look that good, except maybe Becker's."

Despite his exhaustion, Connor noticed Jess give a brief sigh before continuing:

"He almost died last night, you know? Did Lester fill you in on all that? If not, I'm sure you'll hear all about it tomorrow, but the short version is that Becker was on a stake-out, so I brought him shrimp crackers because I KNEW he liked them because I overheard him ordering them once - not that I was eavesdropping or anything, but his mic was on and…well, I guess you two know all about the dangers of…anyway, I brought him food and he invited me to stay and eat with him. Well, actually he said I looked cold and should get in the car instead of standing there shivering all night, but whatever. So then we ate, and we were chatting, and I kind of fell asleep on his shoulder, and…well…."

For the first time since Jess began her monologue, she seemed momentarily at a loss for words. If Connor hadn't been so dead on his feet, he might've sensed something akin to shame or guilt radiating from her, but at present he was too tired to notice.

After a brief moment, however, she resumed, sounding peppy and cheerful as ever.

"So anyway, Ethan came back, and Becker ran inside after him, only Ethan had set a trap and Becker triggered it before he realized what was happening. He had me call for back-up and told me to wait in the car, but then I didn't hear from him and I was worried, and I couldn't simply wait in the car if he was in trouble! So I went inside, and it was a good thing I did because there was this HUGE bomb and it was about to go off and the metronome was ticking, and Becker told me to cut the red wire but not to touch the green wire but there WASN'T a green wire, only two red ones. So then he kept telling me to leave, but I couldn't just leave him there to die - I had to at least try and sort it out! But I'd never been so scared in my entire life! But I did it; I managed to stop the bomb! So now Becker owes me chocolate."

"'Chocolate'?" Abby repeated, able to get a word in for the first time.

"Yes, and he actually remembered that I don't like orange, which must mean that he likes me, don't you think? And he even walked me to my car, which he said was just his job, but I think he would've sent one of his men if all he cared about was the job, you know? And he seemed so friendly on the comm today - he even thanked me again, which he totally didn't need to because the chocolate was thanks enough, but still, it was so sweet! But... enough about my adventures - I want to hear all about the wedding!"

Jess plopped down on the couch with so much enthusiasm that the cushion seemed to bounce several times. Ordinarily Connor found Jess's enthusiasm infectious, often reminding him of his own, but tonight it seemed to drain him of what little energy he had left. And even if he had been awake enough to respond, he'd learned his lesson about blurting things out about weddings and instead waited for Abby answer, wishing to follow her lead.

"It was lovely," Abby said vaguely.

Not wanting to put his foot in it again, Connor repeated through a yawn, "Yes...quite lovely."

Jess gave a frustrated sigh. "That's it? C'mon! Weddings are so romantic - don't they just inspire you to...?" She trailed off, and Connor noticed her cheeks starting to blush as she realised that, as their flatmate, she was liable to hear anything they might be "inspired" to do. Not that Connor was awake enough for any of that tonight.

With a nervous giggle, Jess quickly continued, "Anyway...the house looked like a mansion on the ADD screen. Old and beautiful. The perfect place for a wedding! It must've been so nice for you two to be there together..." She must've finally sensed the awkwardness in the room for she quickly said, "Unless you two had another row. Oh, PLEASE tell me you didn't have a row at the wedding!"

"No!" Abby burst out emphatically. "No row." She shot Connor an awkward smile before taking a seat next to Jess on the couch. "The flowers were absolutely beautiful, Jess - Jenny told me they weren't what she'd ordered, but they still looked gorgeous and smelled heavenly. And her dress..."

As Abby went on with all the details, to the squealing delight of Jess, Connor made his way to the kitchen and absently put the kettle on.

Abby was right - they hadn't had a row. At least not technically. But Connor certainly felt as if they had.

Of course, that was his own fault. He should've left well enough alone, but his curiosity had gotten the better of him the instant everyone was out of danger. And he hadn't technically lied about it, though he wondered if Abby would consider the act of omission the same thing. But she'd never actually ASKED if he'd already listened to her numerous voice mail messages; she'd merely made him promise at the reception to delete them as soon as possible, before listening to them. Technically he hadn't broken that promise - in fact, he'd grabbed his mobile the instant she'd mentioned it and deleted the messages while she watched, eliciting a relieved sigh and a quick peck from Abby. Clearly the fact that she didn't want him to hear those messages meant that she hadn't meant what she'd said in them.

Right?

And how much of it was simply the champagne talking anyway? She'd practically contradicted herself in every other message! And at some points she and Jenny were giggling so much, it was hard to distinguish which one of them was speaking.

So perhaps he should just forget all the things he'd heard.

But how could he forget Abby telling him off? Numerous times? He hated it when Abby was angry with him, and there was no mistaking that she'd been angry last night, though he was still absolutely confused as to why.

Being completely sleep-deprived wasn't helping his brain sort things out either. After staying awake all night with the hyaenadons, Connor had hoped to have a kip on the drive back this evening. However, the copious amounts of champagne had finally started to catch up with Abby, and he'd realised it was in both their best interests to do the driving himself and let her sleep the rest of it off. She now seemed in a much more cheerful mood, but he felt like the walking dead.

Standing at the kitchen counter, he closed his eyes, waiting for the kettle to boil so he could get enough caffeine in him to stagger to bed. And hopefully everything would be clearer in the morning.

But what if it wasn't? What if, after a good night's sleep, he was still just as clueless about how to fix things between him and Abby? How could he possibly make things right if he still didn't know what exactly was wrong?

A part of him simply wanted to be direct and ask her to explain, but he recognized that was a bad idea. That would mean admitting to her that he'd listened to the messages, and that would just make her more angry.

So the answer was clear: he just needed to forget about everything she'd said and pretend he'd never heard any of it.

But he couldn't forget. Not all of it, anyway. Certainly not the part where she'd begun one of her diatribes, "And WHEN we get married..."

Connor smiled at that memory, knowing there was hope, that all was not lost. Things might be awkward for the moment, but that was only temporary. For the time being, he would simply stay in the doghouse for a bit, just until she got over it.

And then he would fix things good and proper, just like Jenny had advised.

"Connor!"

Abby's voice snapped him out of his doze. "Huh?"

"The kettle!"

"What?" Connor turned towards the kettle, which was now eliciting a shrill whistle. "Oh!" He quickly moved the kettle to another burner and turned off the stove. Reaching up to open the cabinet, he knocked a cup to the floor, causing it to shatter.

Before he could quite register what had happened, the two girls were at his side.

"It's okay, it's okay," Jess said, reaching for the brush and dustpan and starting to scoop up the pieces. "It wasn't one of my favourites anyway."

Abby, meanwhile, put her arm around his shoulders and gently started to lead him towards the spare room. "You're exhausted, Connor," she said. "Why'd you put the kettle on anyway? You don't need tea - you need sleep. C'mon. Let's get you to bed."

She shut the door behind them and gently shoved him down onto the bed. As he sat there in a sleepy daze, she stripped off his shirt, not in a sexy way but in a "putting a sleepy kid to bed" way, before helping him take off his shoes and undo his trousers. She then pulled back the covers and practically rolled him in between the sheets.

"Goodnight, Connor," she said, giving him a tender kiss on his forehead before tucking the duvet up over him.

Under his closed lids, he sensed the lights being turned out and heard the door quietly pulled to. Through the door he could vaguely hear the girls' voices resuming their chat in the other room.

As he once again began to doze off, he thought he heard Abby say, "...chatting with Jenny & Michael when Connor suddenly burst out..."

Connor strained to hear what she had to say next, hoping that it would clear up exactly how she really felt about the matter. But he was already so far gone, the last words he heard before falling asleep were merely his own: "We should get married here."

...


End file.
